Song: The Masterplan
Artist: Oasis
Album: Original release - Non-album single / Re-release: The Masterplan
Year of release: 1995 (original release) / 1998 (re-release)
Intro
Well, it's been a while. SpaceHey ceasing operations in the UK was not on my bingo card back in July, but now I'm back with the help of a VPN. My music taste has evolved quite a lot since I've last been on here. In fact, a lot has happened. One of these things is I got to see Oasis themselves perform live in Dublin! It was on 16th August and wow, what a show. One song they performed really stuck out to me. Initially, I never really cared much for "The Masterplan", more preferring "Don't Look Back In Anger" and "Little By Little" as my favourite Noel-sang tracks, but that has changed. Now, this song, which was originally the B-side of the insane success that is "Wonderwall", has become one of my favourite songs from the Manchester boys. In this review, I'll give my thoughts on this song and why I love it. I apologize if my writing isn't the best as I haven't done this in ages.
A wee bit of history
Just like with the others, let's discuss Oasis' history as a band. Oasis formed in 1990 as "The Rain" in Manchester. Inspired by the Madchester movement, led by the Stone Roses, the Happy Mondays and Inspiral Carpets, The Rain's members Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs (guitar), Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan (bass guitar), Tony McCarroll (drums) and Liam Gallagher (vocals) began to play together, with their first show taking place on August 14th 1991, though now under the name "Oasis", named after the Oasis Leisure Centre, inspired by a poster Liam saw in his older brother, Noel's room. Noel was a roadie for Inspiral Carpets and had attended Oasis' first show and was very impressed, and also surprised as for most of his life, Liam had not shown any interest in music outside of just listening to the Beatles. Noel offered to write songs for the group as he was a massive music nerd, eventually joining the band and becoming the "leader". From 1991 to 1993, they played many shows across Manchester, but they knew they had made it big in May 1993 when they were approached by Alan McGee, the owner of Creation Records. McGee agreed to sign Oasis to Creation. In 1994, the band began to release singles, all of which being massive successes. These being "Supersonic", "Shakermaker", "Live Forever" and "Cigarettes & Alcohol". The band's real breakthrough came on August 29th, releasing their anthemic debut album "Definitely Maybe". Oasis' songs called back to the Beatles and the Roses, with Noel Gallagher's songwriting becoming an essential part of the group. Though, cracks had began showing in the band as Liam and Noel would often get into spats, as brothers do, but these spats were so toxic that the other members of Oasis feared it could lead to a breakup. In 1995, Oasis followed up "Definitely Maybe" with "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?", which had double the success and became the third best selling album in British history, tying with their heroes, the Beatles and their 1967 album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". Their biggest song, "Wonderwall" became an iconic hit and the bane of many acoustic guitarists' existence. But lesser known is the B-side to "Wonderwall", the arguably better song, "The Masterplan". This song would get success in the UK as well, leading to the 1998 compilation album of the same name, which compiled many of Oasis' best B-sides and sessions. The song is considered a favourite by many Oasis fans, but does it really deserve this love?
Composition
"The Masterplan" is quintessential Britpop and it is one of the best examples of Oasis' ability to push the boundaries of contemporary rock music in the 1990s. "The Masterplan" is a baroque pop song, which is a genre which combines elements of popular music and classical music, a genre which was famously used by, you guessed it, the Beatles. Similar to the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" or "A Day in the Life", "The Masterplan" makes use of an orchestra accompanying the band, which gives the song more depth and dynamics. In addition, like many songs by Noel, Liam had no involvement in the song, which was seen in other songs like "Don't Look Back In Anger" and "Little By Little". The song begins with a count-in before we're led into an atmospheric section of Noel's guitar strumming which is complimented by bass (also played by Noel) as well as the orchestra's string section. The strings and guitar bridge us into the first verse. Noel's vocals in this song are very soft and tender, which shows a different side to Oasis that hasn't really been seen to this point. I believe Noel's tender vocals reflect the lyrics of the song, which I will get into in the next section. The verse continues, but towards the end, Noel sings "Say it loud and sing it proud today" and the dynamics begin to increase as the strings grow louder until the whole song explodes into the chorus. The chorus is actually quite inspiring with the strings taking the stage as Noel sings, and it's actually quite reminiscent of some progressive rock songs. Listening to this part of the song, especially with headphones, feels like you're floating on air and it's a very good example of how Oasis can craft some of the best feel-good rock tunes. After the chorus, we go into a guitar solo. The guitar is fed through some sort of pedal as it has a psychedelic sound to it, which sounds both beautiful and dissonant simultaneously, maybe reflecting the themes of this song. We go into a second verse which features that more traditional Oasis sound, with guitars and drums. This verse sounds like a slightly slower and deeper version of the 1994 single "Whatever". However, the orchestra is not abandoned as just like "Whatever", the strings compliment this part of the song. This verse is almost as uplifting as the chorus, but we are later blessed with another chorus, with Noel now adding double tracked vocals, which truly add to the anthemic sound of this song. We are 3½ into the song at this point, but the remaining 2 minutes of this song are entirely instrumental, with this part of the song being a long and gradual diminuendo. A second guitar solo erupts after the chorus as Noel's vocals fade into the music. The strings and brass sections are in full swing here. For a minute, we continue this pattern of guitar magic alongside more classical arrangements. Eventually, the song quiets down just as it was at the start, with Noel's acoustic, the strings, but with the addition of that psychedelic electric guitar sound, which gets far more playing time than it did at the beginning. We are left with this as the song continues until the 5:22 mark. Instrumentally, this song is one of Oasis' finest and is a great counterargument to the thinking that "Oasis are just vibes" as this song goes to show that Noel is more than just the "boring guitarist" many critics call him.
Lyrics and meaning
I'm going to say this. "The Masterplan" contains some of Noel's best lyrics. Oasis have become infamous for repeating verses, best seen in songs like "Live Forever", "Wonderwall", "Champagne Supernova" and even "Acquiesce", but "The Masterplan" does not follow this trend. The verses are entirely different from each other and the choruses are similar, but Noel does change up the lyrics. Noel has said in various interviews that "The Masterplan" is one of the best songs he's ever written, and it's clear to see why. The lyrics in this song are pure poetry and really say a lot about Noel. Both "The Masterplan" and "Talk Tonight" were written after spats with Liam. Noel wrote "The Masterplan" while in Japan and alone in a room while Liam and the others went out drinking. According to Noel himself, the song is about life itself, he describes life as a "masterplan" and that we don't know where life will take us, which we see in the chorus when Noel says "You know they're gonna go which way they wanna go and all we know is that we don't know how it's gonna be". Noel uses metaphors to describing how he thinks life is an "endless corridor" and you have to "take the time to make some sense of what you want to say". I 100% see this idea and it really mixes well with the inspirational sound of the instrumental. Noel is reminding us that life is crazy and we have no idea where it will go, but we just have to take it as it comes. One thing I pick up on is that in the chorus, Noel refers to a "brother". To me, I think this is a direct reference to Liam and Noel's strained relationship. Their relationship is rocky and it makes their lives very unpredictable as Noel knows the band could break up at any minute. When he says things like "Please brother, take a chance" and "Please brother, let it be", I feel this is directly addressing Liam. It adds a whole new depth to this already complex song. However, even without context of Liam and Noel's relationship, I think this song is very inspirational. Personally, I could see this as being a good song to lift your mood when you're feeling down. For example, when Noel is saying "brother", he could also be referring to the listener directly, but this doesn't work was well if the listener is a girl, but it's still something I thought of. However, this song is still universal. When you're feeling down, this song is kind of like Noel telling you that life is unpredictable and you're going to have bad moments, but it's important to keep going as you don't know what life is going to throw at you next, and the next thing could be a good thing. A lot of Oasis songs are like this, with "Stand By Me" being another example of Noel's inspirational lyrics on life. Noel has been very open about allowing people to interpret his writings in whatever way they wish, so this is my interpretation. Also, just a quick addition, the phrase "We're all part of a masterplan" truly hammers home this message and is a great way to end each chorus.
Just a little tidbit, but this song references other songs, in which Noel references the aforementioned "Acquiesce" in the line "Sail them home in acquiesce on a ship of hope today" and a reference to the Beatles' 1970 classic "Let It Be", in which Noel says "Please brother, let it be". So that's pretty neat.
Miscellaneous thoughts
I never really got into this song as much until the Oasis concert in Dublin. The performance of this song was one of their best and the thousands of people in the stadium singing with Noel was one of the moments to live for. But now I've listened to it a ton and it has become one of my favourite Oasis tracks. A song with beautiful instrumentation and a compelling message, it's truly a shining star in the career of one of the biggest bands of all time. I could even see non-Oasis fans liking this song. It's just that good. Honestly, this song sounds kind of like some prog rock material and I could picture bands like King Crimson or Genesis adapting this song into their style (which would be really cool but probably will never happen, but you never know what Robert Fripp is doing to be honest)
Final thoughts
Rating: S
Probably one of the few Oasis songs I actually can give an S to. Oasis are mostly a "vibes" band and are not as instrumentally progressive as their rivals Blur or Pulp, but I can say "The Masterplan" is a song which really proves Oasis do genuinely have chops to craft a complex and beautiful masterpiece.
You can listen to the song by following these links:
YouTube: https://youtu.be/dPPi2D6GK7A?si=mmJjYs0c2r-D19qq
Spotify: https://spotify.link/J48LULbctXb
I hope you enjoyed this review and it was as good as my others. Please comment any suggestions if you'd like me to review your music taste. Anyway, thanks for reading!
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Comments
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Supermyssk
Have my two kudos, mate. This is the song that got me into Oasis, that made me say to myself, "yup, this is my new second favourite band now!". Also, the music video to it is my favourite of all times, the art style just looks so cool and fits well with them.
I agree the music video to The Masterplan just like the song is and having this is as the song to get into oasis is awesome! Thanks for the kudos and thanks for reading! 👍👍👍
by riff ryder; ; Report